5 Creative Ways Hair And Beauty Businesses Can Use QR Codes

Between taking care of your clients, ensuring that your appointments schedule is booked out and managing the day to day of your business (taxes, hiring, renovations….) you’ve got enough on your plate.

But despite managing busy schedules, the hard reality of running your business is that you need to continually engage with your clients. It’s the most important factor in growing your business and you know that.

Ensuring that your business has a workable website, social media presence and a booking page is a must, but you also need to stay on top of trends that are influencing your business.

One such trend is getting  “contactless” wherever possible and that’s where QR codes come into play.

In this informative post, we share with you, everything about QR codes. What they are , why you should be using them and how hair and beauty businesses like you can use it to engage with your clients and grow your business.

Let’s get started! 

What are QR codes?

While the use of QR codes dates back to 1994 in Japan, it wasn’t until the late 2010s when their popularity sparked. Now, businesses in all industries, especially local businesses, are using QR codes to share content, streamline marketing, and offer pleasant client experiences.

So what are QR codes exactly? Let’s start with the technical definition first…

A quick-response or QR code is a 2D matrix barcode containing data for a tracker, identifier, or locator to a website or application. 

In simpler terms, you can link a QR code to any online destination, such as a website, booking page or a social profile.

Why are QR codes on the rise?

If you’re seeing QR codes popping out of nowhere, you’re not alone. After a sudden rise in the early 2010s, the use of QR codes dropped in the mid and late 2010s. Their applications were confined to travel and digital payments, and that too mainly in Japan and China.

But then, the pandemic started to cripple the world. And all of a sudden, the world started adopting “contactless.” Human contact reduced, and people began ditching paper currencies, physical tickets, and potentially everything that involved human contact.

This led to the rise of contactless technologies, and QR codes were at the forefront. Their adoption boomed. Every local business – retailers, restaurants, spas, and salons – started adopting QR codes to minimize human contact and keep their business up and running.

How hair and beauty businesses can utilize QR codes 

As discussed, QR codes can help alleviate human contact and establish a safer, touch-free environment at your or hair or beauty businesses. But the benefits of QR codes don’t end here.

Here’s how you can use QR codes to engage your clients and boost your business performance.

Enhance booking experience

One the client has arrived for their appointment, you can use QR codes to check your client in. Clients can visit the page, enter their name, phone number and other desired details that will help you keep your records up to date as well manage contact tracing, esp during the pandemic.

Hair Villa Unisex Salon used this tactic to ensure safe entry in their salon 

You can put up a booking QR code on the entrance of your establishment as well as display it in your reception area. Ensure that you include a clear call to action so your clients know what they need to do.

Provide map directions

“Near me” and “where to buy” queries have grown by 200% over the past couple of years. And you really don’t want to lose a client because they couldn’t find your exact business location, right?

Agreed that you may have a website and a dedicated Google Maps listing, but QR code removes any ambiguity. You can create a location QR code for Google Maps, Apple Maps, or Waze, and link it with your business address. Upon scanning, the client will be directed to the map, and the navigation will begin.

The user can follow the direction and reach your salon or spa.

Collect digital payments

The World Health Organization has confirmed that currency notes can act as a carrier of the virus particles. Since people want to go contactless, the use of cash and physical cards has plummeted. Clients now prefer businesses that accept digital payments.

When it comes to digital payments, local businesses often think of cards and NFC-enabled devices. Well, cards aren’t entirely contactless, and neither are NFC devices. An NFC interaction requires a distance of 4 cm or less.

QR codes are different— depending on the size, a code can be scanned at anywhere from a few inches to a few meters. This makes payments truly contactless. You can put up a large QR code on the reception and allow clients to make payments online.

QR code payments are also faster compared with cards and NFC payments. The money gets deducted directly from the wallet, so no security codes or passwords are required. Hence, customers can pay their bills within seconds.

Provide detailed product information

Customers are getting smarter with every passing day. Gone are the days when writing “100% organic” was enough to convince people. Now, they want detailed information about the products they buy from your shop. And a business that sells products too, it’s your responsibility to keep your clients enlightened about your products.

With QR codes, you can provide detailed product information by linking QR codes to web pages, videos, PDFs, and various other types of digital content. So, create a customized QR code using a QR Code Generator, attach it to product details, and put it up on the product package. Clients who want detailed information can scan the code and learn more about the product.

Promote your website and social media

A website can give you additional real estate on the Google SERPs and can act as a digital emissary of your business. But developing a website is just the first step. You’ll need to do SEO and ensure that your website ranks high on Google search results.

However, SEO has become hyper-competitive. If you want to rank your website on the first page, you’ll need a substantial SEO budget, an understanding of Local SEO along with a lot of time and patience. Local businesses don’t generally have such resources.

Strategic use of QR codes can help you promote your website and increase traffic. You can link a QR code to your website and put it up on outdoor advertising materials. This way, people can find your website even if it doesn’t rank high on Google.

And you don’t need to limit QR codes to advertising materials. You can put them up in your salon, maybe on the windows, walls, waiting area, etc.

Tip: People love rewards. Give them a reason to visit your website. For example, you can provide a discount code that can be availed of only from the website. You can also sell your products on the website and provide special discounts to those who buy from you online.

Similarly, you can promote your social media profiles and email marketing newsletter. Link them to a QR code and give your customers a reason to scan it.

How to win the QR code game?

The benefits of QR codes are substantial for hair and beauty businesses. And they might even seem fascinating to some extent. However, each business is different and has a unique set of clients, goals, and challenges. A strategy that works for your competitor may not work for you.

Follow these tips to unleash the true potential of QR codes for your salon business.

1. Define clear goals: First things first, know what you want to achieve with QR codes? Do you want to increase sales? Educate your clients? Increase website traffic? Grow social following? Whatever your goals are, make sure to clearly define them.
2. Identify your audience: QR codes compel a younger audience. They almost always have their smartphones handy. If they come across a QR code, they can immediately scan it. On the other hand, older citizens may not be very fond of such things. So, ensure that QR codes are right for your target audience.
3. Make it worth It: Why should a client pull out her phone, open the QR code scanning app, and point it towards your QR code? If you want your QR code campaign to be a success, make it worth your client’s effort. Include free rewards and valuable information that they won’t get otherwise.
4. Use dynamic QR codes: Static codes have information encoded into them. So, once you link some data, you can’t change it. On the other hand, dynamic codes come with a short redirection URL. Thus, you can change the associated information without changing the QR code. Businesses should use dynamic QR codes as they provide more flexibility and a better customer experience.
5. Make the process simple: Don’t make the process too complex. Suppose you’re using QR codes to increase signups to your email newsletter. In that case, don’t ask for too much information. Allow the user to quickly sign up for your newsletter.
6. Keep the size in mind: You can create QR codes in various formats, such as JPEG, PNG, SVG, etc. If possible, choose SVG as you can zoom-in and zoom-out the code without blurring it. Also, make sure your QR code is large enough to be scanned from a distance. The minimum size of a QR code is 2×2 cm, but ideally, a code should be at least 3-4 inches in length and width.

Wrapping Up

The use of QR codes is still a new concept for hair and beauty businesses. But keeping the current circumstances in mind, QR codes can play a vital role in growing your business! 

Editor’s Note: This post is contributed by Tanishq Agarwal is a marketing analyst at MobStac. Extremely inquisitive about the contemporary developments in marketing tech, he aspires to bring the most pragmatic ones to the forefront. When he is not exploring the marketing realm, you’ll probably find him indulged in bing-fests of The Office and Brooklyn Nine-Nine.